I too have trialed the Phonak Infinio Sphere 90’s and regret to say I returned them at the end of the trial period. I have a mild to moderate hearing loss at higher frequencies and struggle in noisy backgrounds and so I had high hopes for the Spheres given the apparent success of these aids to help in such environments. To sum up my feelings:
For me to see any appreciable benefit I had to use a mould with no vent as otherwise the background noise (un-amplified) drowned out the amplified audio from the hearing aid. I tried the active vents which then gave me an open vent in quiet environments and a closed vent in noisy environments. I found this did help (but not as much as I had expected !!) but the problems I was having (as well) with Bluetooth were increased and I found that the vent didn’t reopen correctly in one ear leaving me with in effect a blocked ear !! When closed I also suffered from the occlusion effect which I didn’t like.
For a hearing aid that is meant to be so strong on Bluetooth I was disappointed beyond belief. They kept dropping connection with the app and it was difficult to reconnect them. On one occasion (after having turned bluetooth off and on again on my phone, closed the App fully and then completely turned off my phone and started it again - all with no success) I had to put the aids back in their charger and leave them on charge overnight and then the next day they decided to connect with the App. This problem was with the aids and not my phone as I found that they would not talk to each other at this time (trying to change the program via the button on the aid changed the program on the aid that I was pressing the button on, but did not change the program on the other aid. I also experienced problems with connecting to Apple Car Play and also losing the audio on a streamed phone calls for approx 5 seconds !! When returning the Phonak Audeo Infinio Spheres to the retailer I was told that Phonak had had bluetooth issues with early production devices. Why hadn’t I been advised about this during the trial ? All in all I was extremely disappointed with the Infinio Spheres.
I am now waiting to trial the Starkey Edge AI 24’s which I hope I will have more success with.
I don’t know if this has helped you or not, but I wish you well in your trial. If you’re not happy with them though, don’t feel pressurised into taking them !
In case my experience helps.
Ihave older hearing aids. Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s. Model was brand new when I got them.
My thought–the person setting them up is the most important part of the purchase.
I don’t think my dispensing audi had ever set this model up before. He was a gentleman. We parted 1-1/2 years after he ordered my HA’s for me.
Every time I visited he called Phonak Canada. I would sit and listen as he asked questions…such as "how do i pair the ha’s with his iPhone.
Every time I left I had to pair my HA’s with the APP.
The person I chose to replace him is an expert.
He found the dispensing audi had not connected the L and R hearing aids within Target. And he had set the wrong domes.
So my understanding is that the "connection? L to R is critically important and must be done in Target by the setup expert.
Thanks DaveL. I am beginning to realise how important the Audiologist is in all this. I have used the same one for 10years and been very happy with things. They set up the Spheres and all seemed well. They would “talk” to each other, etc. Whether or not the fine tuning to my ears was correct I do not know, but it has been in previous aids they have fitted (both Phonak and Widex). My major frustration is that the Bluetooth was awful - and this issue seems to be known about on the early production Spheres. Maybe Phonak needs to sort this out
I’ve had another audiologist appointment where they changed the open domes to closed domes and adjusted the Phonak Infinio Sphere I90 HAs to suit. They also increased the amplification which, as @RobHooft suggested, had been initially set more for comfort than performance. Also as recommended by @Bimodal_user I’ve started to push the earpieces further down into my ears. I’m more fortunate than @pcm71 because I’m not troubled by any occlusion effect caused by the closed domes.
After a few days with new setup, I can notice some improvement but understanding higher pitch speech (mostly female voices) in background noise (eg in a cafe) remains a problem and is my main concern. I can’t detect any real noticeable difference between programs that have the spheric function engaged and those that do not. Using a program with the spheric function engaged background noise doesn’t seem to be reduced very much, speech doesn’t standout above the general level of background noise and I don’t notice any real directional effect to help focus on the speech of someone I’m facing. This doesn’t seem any different with speech focus set to narrow in the app.
As part of my trial I’ve three more audiologist appointments before I need to finally commit to buying these HAs. I’m hoping that with their help, some more adjustments and/or different earpieces I can achieve something more like this Phonak Spheric Speech simulation: https://youtu.be/jcd3jKE9Oxs and like other users have reported with their Phonak Audeo Sphere aids.
I’m inclined to think that I will keep these Phonak Spheres as they are a little better than the free HAs I’ve had from the UK NHS and it seems they provide more opportunities for DIY programming. I’ve been inspired by @tenkan to consider buying a Noahlink wireless programming device to try some DIY programming with Phonak’s Target PC program.
Trying to slighly reangling receivers, when they’re deep in ear canal - maybe their outputs are directed to ear canal wall, not eadrum, which can be detrimental to sound quality.
Woman speeches - hmm, you have M receiver? Maybe P receiver helps. If not - consider changing prescription to DSL 5.0 (a bit more amplification for higher frequencies), if without success - maybe active feedback cancellation is often activated due to leak around domes and you can’t reach proper high frequency amplification.
Admittedly is SoundRecover2, but that is rather for patients with no usable response from high frequency stimulation.
In case of no success with power domes I would consider deeply placed cShell (past second bend of ear canal) with smaller vent than suggested by Target Software. I have no problem with occlusion, so I’ll have pressure vent, YMMV.
Reconsider lenght of receiver. Maybe it’s too long and you lose a bit of directivity? Read link here:
Thanks @Bimodal_user for all that really useful and interesting information. The articles on directionality are especially interesting so I’ve started expermenting with rotating the HAs round so the microphones are more horizontal. Also at my next appointment I need to have a discussion with the audiologist about alternative earpieces.
Thanks @RobHooft for another positive recommendation for the DIY possibilities with Noah and Target software.
One question: Is it realistic to expect something like the speech in noise effect demonstrated in this Phonak video: https://youtu.be/jcd3jKE9Oxs
From my VERY SHORT, from 4th March experience with Sphere (monaural) - yes, I think this is definitely possible. Keep in mind I tested it in my room, where I intentionally turned on noise source. I didn’t tested it in restaurants, but there are many post describing very positive experiences:
(Yes, “HOLY SHITE” was keyword during searching that post ).
However, there are many variables that can change someone’s experience, such as:
Thanks again @Bimodal_user At the start of my trial the audiologist said I could swap to Oticon Intent HAs if the Phonak Spheres didn’t suit me. But I’m going to persevere with the Phonaks with the audiologist’s help. I’ll update this thread with details of the changes made at my next appointment and my experiences.
Reportedly, Oticon receivers are better at high frequency gain. However, I do not think any receiver will give you adequate gain if it reaches feedback threshold due to leakage around the domes. So I think there are acoustic coupling issues that need to be resolved first.
I once read an opinion (expert OPINION, not inviolable fact) on Hearingreview that with a loss of more than 70 - 80 dB, there should be more closed couplings. However, it depends on how you would feel about (perhaps) occlusion and other potential drawbacks. I do not have this problem, but many people with similar audiograms might.
You/your HCP should also not rely on active feedback cancellation alone.
I had another audiologist appointment where further adjustments were made using the results of real ear measurement. This has helped with amplification of higher frequencies.
But I’m still having trouble understanding higher pitch voices in background noise. My impression is that, while high frequencies are amplified correctly, background noise isn’t sufficiently reduced to make voices stand out clearly. Also I can’t detect much directional effect.
I was thinking that this was because I’m getting too much low frequency sound passing the closed domes and, as I haven’t experienced any occlusion problems, thought it’d be worth trying power domes. But after reading this and the linked Dr Cliff YouTube video I’ve learnt that open vents are recommended for my good hearing ability at 500Hz (<20dBHL) Custom ear mold configuration
I’m not experiencing anything like this Phonak Spheric Speech simulation: https://youtu.be/jcd3jKE9Oxs and there are many users on this forum who say they do, so I wonder if the problem is more with the noise reduction system. Perhaps it needs adjusting or maybe my hearing aids are faulty.
Or can anyone suggest any other solutions? I appreciate speech in background noise is especially challenging for hearing aids but I really do want to continue searching for a solution with the Phonak aids.
As part of my trial I’ve two more audiologist appointments before I have to make a final decision on whether to keep the Phonak Spheres. But even now I think they’re a sufficient improvement over the NHS aids I was using to be worth keeping especially as I think I’ll try some DIY fine tuning with a Noahlink and the Phonak Target software.
No. The table is more a tip, non inviolable fact, engraved in stone. The table should be interpreted in that way:
“when patient have good low frequency hearing, keep in mind thar he/she has high risk of perceived occlusion effect with more closed fittings”. So, the table is a good starting point, based on AVERAGES (not shouting).
Risk, not certainty. For example, myself and @jim_lewis have good low frequency hearing and can wear closed fittings, but many people with the same audiograms may find them uncomfortable.
And we do not know do you have other issues e.g. upward spread of masking or so (there is dr Cliff’s video about that).
To sum up, there is always a slight trade-off - a more closed fit might give you better noise reduction, but poorer low-frequency localisation due to reduced pinna effect. I don’t have localisation at all, so it isn’t problem for me, YMMV.
I don’t know anything about this low frequency sound passing because I don’t see any deviations from the target in the REM fitting graphs.
).